Well, there's an awful lot in Brit history that is impossible to defend morally, but I'd like to point out two things about slavery in Africa:
i) in the 1890s Britain was in campaigning against the African slave trade, which was still being conducted by the Arab nations.
ii) in the 1960s Britain supervised peaceful transitions to independence for a bunch of former colonies
iii) for decades Britain had sanctions against S Africa in protest against the aparteid regime of that country
Like any colonial power, the Brits did many evil things, but some of it was tempered with a moral conscience too.
As Gandhi said during his struggles for the independence of India, "When I go on hunger strike, it's an effective negotiating tool, but only because the British are fundamentally decent."
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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953
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